Somewhere Out There
by michellemtsu
Summary: Missing scene from Avengers.


**Author's note:** This is my first Marvel Universe story, but not my first rodeo. This story has been driving me nuts since I saw Avengers over the weekend. This is my personal headcanon until Thor 2 tell us different. Bottom line? Missing scene from The Avengers. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. In any way. Which is sad.

Jane Foster sat hunched over her new worktable. She'd been called into assist at the observatory quite unexpectedly a few days ago. Initially, she'd been furious. Didn't they know how much work she had to do? The gateway to another world wasn't just going to find itself. However, as the Foster Theory gained traction in the astrophysics community, her presence was in demand. This sounded like an offer she couldn't refuse. Reluctantly, Jane got on a plane and left her battery of assistants with very strict instructions to call her if they needed her.

The trip wasn't a complete waste of her time as it turned out. The observatory had some very interesting data. She was trying to reconcile it with her own findings when her phone buzzed.

In spite of her annoyance, Jane smiled when she saw the number. It was Darcy. "Hey, Darcy."

"Jane! Are you watching the news? Have you seen him?"

Jane frowned. "Seen who, Darcy? I've been working on-"

But Darcy cut her off before she could finish. "Oh my god, you have no idea, do you?" Turn on the news. Right now."

"Darcy, what are you talking about? You haven't been getting into Eric's secret stash again, have you?"

"Jane, I'm serious. Turn. On. The. News."

Intensely curious now, Jane turned on the old dilapidated television in the corner of the room. She'd barely noticed it when she arrived; everything else in the room was state of the art. She didn't even know if it worked, but sure enough it hummed to life. She turned the dial until she got to one of the twenty four hour news stations. Suddenly, the screen filled with pictures of devastation like she had never seen before. It made what the Destroyer had done to her temporary New Mexico home seem like a bad dream. It looked like a war zone.

"Jane, you still there?"

Jane jumped; she had forgotten that Darcy was on the other end of the phone. "Yeah, I'm here."

"Well, see him yet? I'm telling you I saw him!"

"Who, Darcy?" It was unfathomable how anybody could find anyone in that mess.

"Thor, dummy."

Suddenly, Jane was angry. "Don't even joke about that, Darcy."

"You know I wouldn't do that," Darcy replied, serious now. Jane immediately regretted her harsh tone. Even though Darcy no longer worked for Jane, they'd stayed close. There was no one else who knew how much Thor meant to her. Except Eric, of course. That gave her pause. She hadn't heard from Eric in days. Jane had left a voice mail when she left for the observatory, but still hadn't heard back. She didn't think too much of it. Eric was a lot like her; when he got caught up in an experiment, there was little that could pry him away.

"Darcy, have you heard from Eric?" Jane asked as she continued scanning the footage, hoping for some glimpse of her missing god. Or it was possible Darcy was completely crazy. Tough call, that.

"Nope. Should I have?"

"No, it's just that..." Jane never finished the thought. The broadcast was showing some grainy cell phone video of what appeared to be a battle going on in Manhattan. And right there in the middle of it was Thor. His hair was longer than she remembered, but she was certain it was him. He was fighting along side some guy dressed in star spangled spandex and another wielding a bow and arrow like Robin Hood. There had been a time where she'd have thought something like that ridiculous, but she'd seen Thor in action. It had made her a believer.

Jane didn't even hear the phone clatter to the floor as she reached to turn up the sound.

"The invasion caused much destruction of Lower Manhattan," the anchor said, "Casualty reports are still coming in. Estimates are currently in the 5,000 range. It may be sometime until a hard count becomes available. What is known, however, is that it could have been much worse. A group of what can only be called superheroes beat back the alien invasion and saved untold thousands."

As the anchor was speaking, the picture changed to a live shot of the city. Many of the buildings were still smoking but there were emergency crews evacuating the immediate vicinity. There was no sigh of Thor or his friends, but Jane had seen enough. She picked up her phone and called the one person who might be able to give her a straight answer. Agent Phil Coulson.

As the line rang and rang, Jane started to pace. How had Thor returned? What happened to him and why had it taken so long? Why hadn't he spoken to her? Had he decided that she wasn't worth it? After all, she was just ordinary human Jane and he was a god. Who the hell had she been kidding? Jane had really worked herself into a state when a someone picked up.

"Who are you and how do you have Agent Coulson's number?" a crisp female voice asked.

Jane nearly dropped the phone again, but managed to hang on. "This is Jane Foster. I'd like to speak to Agent Coulson."

The woman on the other end sighed. "Ma'am, I'm sorry. Agent Coulson has died."

"Died? What do you mean, died?" If Coulson was dead, how was she going to get any of those goons to tell her where Thor was? She realized that was a little insensitive, but she'd had too many shocks in too short a time. Wasn't that a stage of grief or something? Jane didn't know; she'd always been terrible at psychology.

"He was killed in the line of duty a few hours ago. How did you know him, Miss Foster?"

Jane thought about explaining that Coulson had tried to steal her equipment and research, but thought better of it. The guy had just died, after all. She swallowed. "He was the S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison for my lab."

The line clicked and a new voice spoke. "Dr. Foster, this is Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D. First, let me extend my condolences for the loss of Agent Coulson. I know he liked you very much."

"Thank you, Director," Jane replied automatically. Never let it be said that Jane Foster forgot her courtesies.

"Nick, please, Doctor."

"Jane."

"In that case, Jane, I imagine there is a certain god you'd like to see?"

Jane was stunned. Just how much did this Fury guy know about her? "Um, yes. If it's not too much trouble." She paused; it was too much to hope. "Can I talk to him?"

"Now that is a request I would happily grant, but I actually have no idea where Thor or the others are at the moment."

"Oh." It had been a long shot – did Thor even know how to use a phone? – but Jane was disappointed anyway.

"But," Fury continued, "I'll send a plane there for you and we'll have you here in a few hours. I'm sure they will have turned up by then."

"Thank you," Jane replied, relieved. After so many long months, she was going to see Thor again.

Thor sat quietly at the conference table. Most of his new friends were asleep, but Thor didn't even try. He was as tired as he'd ever been, but he knew that sleep would not come while Loki remained on Earth. His brother was shackled and gagged deep within the bowels of the helicarrier. It pained him to see Loki that way, but he knew it was necessary. Loki was unhinged and though defeated was still dangerous. As soon as the S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists created the vessel by which he would use the Tesseract to return to Asgard, Thor would take Loki home. He desperately wanted to see Jane, but returning Loki had to come before his own selfishness. _Yes, Father, you would be proud_, Thor thought bitterly.

But at least Jane was safe. The Son of Coul had made sure of that and Thor was grateful. If she knew he had returned, his Jane would have tried to fight the Chitari right along side the Avengers. She was a stubborn one, his Jane. No, it was better this way. He would find a way back to her soon. Perhaps they could use the Tesseract to rebuild the bridge? No, the Allfather would never allow it. The Tesseract would go straight into the weapons vault. As it should, he reminded himself. Odin had risked much mustering the magic to bring Thor to Midgard once; he would not do it again. Thor banged his fist on the table in frustration; but in his weariness he misjudged and shattered the glass.

Behind him came a groan. "And I thought Banner was the one we had to watch around the furniture," Nick Fury said, half in exasperation, half in amusement.

Thor looked up sheepishly. "I am sorry, Fury. I can-" Thor stopped abruptly, unable to believe his eyes.

Fury smiled. "There's someone here to see you, I believe."

There standing behind Nick Fury was Jane Foster.

Jane's smile was bright enough to put the towers of Asgard to shame. She stepped around Fury and ran. She got no more than a dozen steps before leaping into his arms. They held each other tight, barely believing the other was real. Thor inhaled Jane's unique scent; it was just as he remembered. There had been days when he thought he'd never see Jane again and here she was in his arms once more. If there was a happier feeling in the nine realms, Thor did not know what it could be.

"I can't believe it," Jane whispered.

"Nor can I, Jane Foster."

Jane laughed. That laugh had haunted him, tormented him. As much as he wanted to keep her his in arms, he had to know. "How, Jane? How are you here?" he asked as he set her back on her feet.

"Would you believe it? Darcy."

Thor frowned, confused. "Darcy? I thought maybe Eric..."

"Eric? No, Darcy saw you on TV and called me. I called S.H.I.E.L.D. and here I am." She smiled. But when Thor's expression didn't change, she frowned. "You are happy to see me, right?" She stepped away from him, worried. "Thor? Oh god, I knew it. I knew it was all in my head."

Thor was becoming more and more confused as Jane rambled. Finally, it dawned on him that she was convincing herself that he didn't want her. He reached out and took her face in his hands. "Jane, calm yourself. I assure you, I am very happy to see you. The happiest I can remember being, in fact. I was merely wondering why no one had told you about Eric."

Thor could see the relief in her eyes. Quickly though, that relief turned back into worry. "What about Eric? Have you seen him?"

Thor guided Jane to a nearby chair. He sat across from her and took her small hands in his as he explained about Loki, the Tesseract and how Loki had used Eric to try and destroy Earth. Jane listened intently, asking questions about things she didn't understand. She grasped just how powerful and dangerous the Tesseract was, the scientist taking over.

"I knew Eric was working on a secret project for S.H.I.E.L.D. but I didn't think it was anything like that. Are those S.H.I.E.L.D. guys crazy? They could have opened up a black hole! Or exploded the sun!"

"Fury seems to think the situation is my fault."

"Your fault? How is them misusing a powerful celestial object your fault?"

"Because my arrival here proved to them that humans are not alone in the cosmos. My battle with the Destroyer caused much damage, Jane."

"I remember," she replied. "I also remember you saving all our lives."

"I am sorry I could not return for you as I promised. I had to destroy the bridge to stop Loki."

Remarkably, Jane's eyes lit up. "So that's what happened! I figured something major must have gone down on your end, but I couldn't figure out what it was. I was driving Darcy crazy coming up with theories."

Thor laughed. "I trust she is well?"

Jane nodded. "Oh yeah, she's fine. She wanted to see you, but the plane was only for one."

"Perhaps next time then."

Jane looked at him quizzically. "You mean you're not staying?"

Thor looked down at the floor. "It is not possible for me to stay on Midgard at the moment, Jane. I must return Loki to Asgard; he has to answer to the Allfather for his crimes."

"But if the Tesseract can open a portal, why can't you use that to get back? I know it's dangerous in the wrong hands, but yours are not the wrong hands," Jane said, squeezing his large hands for emphasis.

"My father would never allow it. He will place the Tesseract in the weapons vault where it belongs. It's too dangerous, not even I could watch over it at all times."

"So what you're saying is we have to come up with another way."

"Exactly. I swear that I will find my way back to you."

Jane leaned close and kissed him. "Not if I find you first."

It was nearly time. The vessel carrying the Tesseract was on its way. Thor was watching Jane having an animated discussion with Tony and Bruce about her theory. The three scientists were writing equations and erasing them faster than Thor could decipher them. If anyone could solve the puzzle of how to restore the bridge, Thor was certain they could.

"She's really nice," Steve said, coming to stand next to his Asgardian friend. "Smart too. Where'd you find her anyway? And does she have a sister?"

Thor laughed. "Actually, Jane hit me with her car. Twice."

Steve looked nonplussed. "You're joking."

"I assure you I am not. It is – what do you say – a long story."

"I'll bet. And I was just joking about the sister thing."

"Of course."

"Jane reminds me of a girl I knew once, that's all. She was smart too. And way too good for me," Steve said, trying to sound jovial and failing completely.

Thor faced him. "I am truly sorry for your loss, my friend. I'm sure she was very special."

Steve grinned, but his eyes were sad. "Yeah, she was." He paused. "Listen, I'll keep an eye on Jane for you. I know modern women can take care of themselves and all that, but an extra pair of eyes every once in a while can't hurt. It's the least I can do for the guy who had my back out there."

"Thank you, Steve."

"Don't mention it."

Jane came over; she looked sad. "Fury says it's time."

Steve nodded and discreetly disengaged himself. Quietly, he motioned for the remaining Avengers to leave the room, giving Thor and Jane some privacy. Jane threw her arms around Thor and hugged him tight.

"I'm promised myself I wouldn't cry," she said, her voice muffled because she was speaking into his shoulder.

Leaving now was so much more difficult now that he had her. Part of himself would be staying behind, he knew that. It just gave him more motivation to return as quickly as possible. He needed her.

Thor held Jane at arm's length. "We will see each other again."

"Damn right we will," she replied. Jane stood on tip toes and kissed him. It took all his strength to pull away from her, grab Mjolnir and leave the room. He didn't see Jane smiling proudly behind him.

Steve hopped on his bike and revved the engine. Cruising around on the bike was the most at home he'd felt since his return to the land of the not-frozen. Usually he had no destination; it was all about the journey. This time he had a promise to keep to a friend. And if he had some adventures along the way? He was okay with that too.


End file.
